Matt Rainey/The Star-LedgerA file photo of a bat from the New Jersey Bat Sanctuary in Alexandria Township.

New bat plan, same bat problem.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has detailed a national plan to combat a fungus that has killed more than 1 million bats, including tens of thousands in New Jersey.

The disease, known as white-nose syndrome, is caused by fungus that appears to affect wing and tail membranes in many species of bats. It has spread to bats in 18 states and four Canadian provinces.

In unveiling the plan Tuesday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said it will provide a road map for the more than 100 federal, state and tribal agencies and scientific researchers who are tracking the disease and trying to combat it.

"The plan pretty much lays out a blueprint for the work that has been done and it ... lays out what is needed to be done," said biologist Mick Valent of the state's Endangered and Nongame Species Program. "It's a framework."

Since it was first detected outside Albany, N.Y., in 2006, the disease has been found in bats along the Eastern Seaboard and has spread inland to Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. The fungus also has been found in Oklahoma and Missouri, although no bats are known to have died from it in those states.

Recovered bats to be returned to their hibernation caves Jackie Kashmer has been a wildlife rehabilitator for more than 20 years. Early this spring, biologists from New Jersey and Pennsylvania gave Kashmer 26 little brown bats inflicted with the mysterious white nose syndrome, a fungus responsible for the devastation of bat populations throughout the east coast. Kashmer has healed the majority of the tiny mammals which will soon be released back into their hibernation caves. Biologists hope that the recovered bats have developed an immunity to the deadly fungus and can begin reproducing. (Video by Andre Malok/The Star-Ledger)

The rapid spread of the disease has concerned many ecologists because of the critical role bats play in maintaining healthy ecosystems, as well as in agricultural systems.

White-nose syndrome has hit New Jersey’s bat population especially hard, Valent said. Before it was detected in the state in January 2009, about 27,000 bats of various species gathered each fall to hibernate in the Hibernia Mine in Rockaway. The next spring, there were only 1,715 bats left at the mine, a mortality rate of more than 90 percent.

Scientists are not certain how the disease is transmitted or even how it kills. The fungus grows on bats' noses, wings and ears and it may irritate those membranes, causing the animals to wake often during hibernation and thus burn so much energy they starve to death before spring. Other evidence suggests the fungus directly damages the wings, which are important for bats’ water balance and blood pressure.

The disease does not affect humans, officials said. However, the fungus can be spread by people’s footwear. Many caves on federal land have been closed to the public to try to stem the spread of the fungus. Officials said it was important for people to clean their shoes before and after they enter caves.

The announcement of a national effort to combat the disease was welcomed by New Jersey environmentalists who are seeking a solution to a devastating problem.

"There should be some kind of national plan because if every state is doing its own thing, it's kind of chaotic," said Jackie Kashmer of the New Jersey Bat Sanctuary in Alexandria Township. "Having a central agency overseeing the entire project could only be a good thing, to see what works and what doesn't work."

Some environmentalists are hoping the plan comes with increased funding.

Matt Rainey/The Star-LedgerA worker at the New Jersey Bat Sanctuary holds a little brown bat that was rescued last spring and cured of a mysterious ailment that has been wiping out the nation's bat population.

"It is great to see these efforts are recognized, but a very important part would be funding," said Margaret O’Gorman, executive director of Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

"Even coordination needs funding," she continued. "The idea that groups who are already overstretched in terms of resources suddenly adding coordination to their plates is very nice but not very realistic."

The Interior Department, home of the Fish and Wildlife Service, has spent nearly $11 million since 2007 on white-nose syndrome, including $3 million for research into methods to control or cure the disease.

"Some of the best minds in the field are investigating this, but the problem is it’s happening so fast and research takes so long," Valent said.